College needs urgent changes, Ofsted rules
BOSSES at Macclesfield College have been ordered to make urgent improvements after an inspection by Ofsted.
The centre at the Park Lane Learning Zone which has 2,180 students, was judged as ‘requiring improvement’ after a visit by the education watchdog.
The college has suffered a turbulent few years with Ofsted inspections. In 2012 it was slammed as ‘inadequate’ but within 15 months of new principal Simon Andrews’ arrival was deemed ‘good’.
But during 2014/15 student achievement plummeted and college governors appointed a new principal, Rachel Kay.
Following an inspection in May lead inspector Steve Hailstone found while the new leadership had ‘taken decisive action to tackle weaknesses’ and ‘improved quickly the quality of provision in many areas’ the college is lacking in six of seven areas including: leadership; teaching; personal development, behaviour and welfare; outcomes for learners; and its 16-19 and adults programmes.
The only area it was praised for was its apprenticeships scheme, which currently has 248 students.
Mr Halistone found the college was ‘too positive’ in its evaluation of the progress made and students made insufficient progress, particularly with maths and English, because teaching was not challenging enough. He also found attendance was too low.
Rachel Kay, principal of Macclesfield College, said she was pleased Ofsted had recognised changes have started to have an impact.
She said: “The report identifies a number of areas of strength at the college including improvements in retention and attendance, the positive behaviour and attitudes of learners to their work and the strong partnerships that exist that are enabling us to meet local priorities.
“The leadership team here at Macclesfield College has a very clear vision of how we will continue to drive up standards of teaching and learning for all our students.
“We are confident that this year’s results, expected during the coming weeks, will reaffirm the progress that has been made to date.
“However we fully recognise the need to continue on our journey to ensure that Macclesfield College offers young people every opportunity to achieve their true potential and support local employers in meeting their skills needs.”